iXsystems debuts exclusive ZFS Encryption Feature in FreeNAS 8.3.1

iXsystems continues to lead the way for free and open source software with the release of FreeNAS Version 8.3.1. With this update, FreeNAS becomes the first open source storage platform to offer encryption for the advanced Zettabyte File System (ZFS). This is the first point release of the 8.3 branch, including updates to several components for security and stability.

FreeNAS makes powerful features easy to use and accessible to everyone; until now, encryption for ZFS has been inaccessible to the general public. Thanks to ZFS encryption, security-conscious users will be able to prevent their data from being read if the disks are disconnected from their system.

The ZFS encryption module runs as fast as unencrypted volumes on processors that support the AES-NI instruction set. AES-NI instructions are available on many Intel and AMD processors.

The encryption key management has been made user friendly with options for automatically restarting the volume, or requiring an operator to manually enter in a key depending on the user’s required level of security. In addition encryption allows for confidence when retiring and recycling hard drives because the drives no longer need to be wiped provided the keys are obliterated.

In the future, iXsystems will be able to bring features and improvements from FreeBSD, the enterprise open source operating system, to the FreeNAS community faster. This is a result of the FreeNAS codebase moving to FreeBSD 9. Alfred Perlstein, VP of Software Engineering at iXsystems, says,

“With the FreeNAS and the FreeBSD code bases closer together, both userbases will benefit from testing and development done on the entire platform.”

FreeNAS 8.3.1 also updates many of the services and components of FreeNAS, providing upgraded hardware support, bug fixes, and performance enhancements. FreeNAS 8.3.0 has been the most popular FreeNAS release to date with over 500,000 downloads. iXsystems is looking forward to the continued growth of the FreeNAS community with the release of version 8.3.1, and to more opportunities to make powerful technology accessible for FreeNAS users.

About FreeNAS®
FreeNAS is a free and open source Network Attached Storage operating system based on FreeBSD. The goal of the project is to design a lightweight, BSD-based software package that acts as a full featured NAS server, complete with a Django-based web user interface, full ZFS implementation, and the ability to interface with existing networks – regardless of operating system or protocol. The encryption system introduced in Version 8.3.1 makes FreeNAS the only Free and Open Source ZFS encryption offering in the world.

About iXsystems:
iXsystems builds rock solid enterprise-class server and storage solutions. All of our products are assembled, tested, and shipped from our company headquarters in Silicon Valley. Technical support is provided in-house by the same engineers that build the systems. Thousands of companies, universities, and U.S. Government departments have come to rely on iXsystems’ customer-first commitment to excellence. iXsystems champions the cause of Open Source technology by dedicating extensive resources to several FreeBSD community projects: FreeNAS, PC-BSD, FreeBSD, and TrueOS.